The story of a retired crazy who seems to be able to find one adventure after another.

No matter how many times I do this and how many different routes I try, this drive west is still boring. Today, the route is down I-85 to I-26 to I-40 in Asheville. Stay on I-40 to Nashville and then turn right onto I-24 to work up to I-70. Then west to St. Louis.

The Gateway Arch on the horizon and a new, gleaming cable stay bridge over the Mississippi. Plenty of time to admire both of them since traffic is moving very slowly, if moving at all. Otherwise, a boring drive though the rain just after St. Louis is a nice attempt at excitement. I knew I shouldn’t have washed the truck.

After 850 miles, I’ve had enough. There are the usual clutch of hotel billboards for exit 148. I pull off at exit 148, the Ozarkland exit. Don’t ask. I have no idea.

Two truck stops, 4 hotels, a Denny’s and Ozarkland, in the state that brought us Branson, Missouri. But there’s fuel, a not-terrible Caesar salad at Denny’s and a bed. It’s been a long day. Three more long driving days to Kirkland.